Childhood obesity and its long-term health implications should be of major concern to science educators. In an effort to support teachers and youth about this growing problem, a five-unit, 19-lesson module entitled Choice, Control, and Change (C3) was developed at Teachers College Columbia University. C3 is a standards-driven and inquiry-based curriculum that is framed around the driving question, “How can we use scientific evidence to help us make healthy food and activity choices?” The curriculum provides teachers and students with rigorous, yet relevant investigations into how an understanding of biology, the environment, and personal behaviors impacts weight and health.
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In his 2003 testimony, the Surgeon General called for combating the obesity epidemic in America by increasing health literacy among our citizens, and especially among the nation’s children. Schools must teach students to lead healthy lifestyles and make appropriate choices about what and how much they eat and how they spend their spare time. The choices children make now can have lifelong effects on reducing their risks of future health problems such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. The health literacy activities found in this month’s issue make a healthy addition to your science instruction.
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Communication and reporting of findings to peers are important to middle school students. One way to capitalize on students’ interests and incorporate the nature of science into the science curriculum is to have students create a science-based newspaper. Similar to the behavior of scientists who publish in journals, students are given the opportunity to hone their writing skills, extend science vocabulary, and showcase technology proficiency, while relating their research findings to their peers. The process of developing a student newspaper is highly motivating and prompts students to use higher-level thinking skills as well..
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Teaching science by means of inquiry-based projects has the potential to transform the science lab into a place of debate and discovery, but teachers run the risk of either leaving students to work too independently or forcing them to be too dependent on our guidance. To counter these challenges, the author implemented changes in the way topics are covered and assessment is made in his 6th grade classroom. This article presents an example of the structure that was developed as a result, which is based on an inquiry into the digestive system.
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Design briefs are plausible situations in which students are asked to solve problems given limited materials, a specific time frame, and a number of rules and limitations. It is the author’s contention that the design brief, an established format in technology education, can serve as a unique approach to extend and assess everyday science investigations through the process of application. Here you’ll learn about the benefits of using design briefs to enhance your science instruction.Two sample design briefs are included.
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Dozens of inflatable aliens recently “descended” upon the authors’ middle school to kick-off their first school-wide Astronomy night. With an estimated attendance of over 500, their eighth-grade students hosted over a dozen activity-rich sessions designed to entertain and educate students and their families about the wonders of the solar system and beyond. From the Galilean moons of Jupiter, to the farthest reaches of our galaxy, space science intrigued learners of all ages and was the perfect theme for this family night event. Here the authors share their “stellar” experience, and include a detailed description of the activities from the Astronomy Night sessions.
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The following activity teaches students about the neurobiological consequences of drug use on their brains and behavior. Students make clay models that allow them to visualize how drugs affect neural communication. If you’re concerned that this activity may be too advanced, studies have shown that even third-grade students with some knowledge of the circulatory and nervous systems are able to comprehend the effects of drugs on the body and behavior (Sigelman et al., 2003). This activity aligns with the AAAS science benchmarks on human organisms, cells, model making, and personal health.
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The use of science stations in the classroom is a good way to integrate investigative skills and the teaching of science content. The author uses two different types of science stations within the 5E learning cycle (Bybee et al., 1989) to teach the topic of convection currents—a Learning Station and Student-Group Stations. Using examples of convection currents that occur in the real world (land breezes and in refrigerators) and easily available science equipment (plastic beakers and nonmercury thermometers) and materials (ice cubes), students work cooperatively to learn how convection currents are also at work cooling a glass of water with ice cubes.
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For many teachers of life science, one of the favorite parts of the curriculum is the unit on heredity. Students love to discover how and from whom they’ve inherited certain traits such as tongue rolling, earlobe shape, and dimples. In this fun and easy investigation, students will perform a simulation of the inheritance of skin pigment and create a visual representation using inexpensive materials. This lesson actively engages students in the development of analytical and investigative skills. Additionally, it promotes the intrinsic pleasure of discovery and understanding.
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Recently, dogs have been the focus of a great deal of scientific research. In fact, dogs were the inspiration for Professor Bruce Blumberg’s class, The Cognitive Dog: Savant or Slacker, at Harvard University. This course serves as the impetus for the thematic unit presented here—You Can Learn A Lot From Your Dog. The unit incorporates cooperative learning, data analysis, and presentations while providing a powerful approach to teaching science. This unit is meaningful for middle school students as they develop an understanding of selected aspects of the inquiry process.
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So, what does “sun safety” have to do with middle school science teachers, especially during the winter months? With the movement toward hands-on science and environmentally oriented curricula, more students and teachers in science classes are doing fieldwork in the sun year round. Unfortunately, many people still believe winter equates to little or no UV exposure. This is just not so. It does not matter what time of year, nor where you are—UV radiation is there and can be a danger. This month’s column provides strategies for middle school science teachers to protect themselves and their students from exposure to the UV rays of the sun. In addition, some UV and health facts are included.
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This month, the three most outer planets—Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune—and one of the larger dwarf planets, Pluto, will be in the evening skies after sunset. While only Jupiter and Uranus will be visible through small telescopes or binoculars, this part of the night sky can be viewed with the understanding that one is looking in the direction of some of the distant members of the solar system. Pluto will be located just above the planet Jupiter and to the west of the constellation Sagittarius. Neptune will lie within the northern boundaries of the constellation Capricornus, and Uranus will be amongst the stars of Pisces.
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Wondering how to make the study of the immune system and infectious agents more relevant to your students’ lives? The online adventure series, Medical Mysteries, can provide the context and motivation. The series combines the drama of television’s CSI episodes with science to address several of the National Science Education Content Standards. This free teaching tool incorporates online games with classroom activities for middle school students. The virtual experiments engage students in analyzing data, interpreting charts and graphs, and drawing conclusions.
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Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, and the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004, the majority of students with learning disabilities take science courses as part of the general-education middle school class. In addition, they will be required to take the high-stakes science tests in accordance with NCLB at least one time during the middle school years, mandated to start in 2007-2008. The purposes of this article are to review the typical characteristics of learning disabilities (LD) that make science instruction a challenge and then to describe instructional modifications, study skills, and test-taking strategies to help students with LD succeed in science class and pass the related tests.
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By virtue of its connection with scientific literacy, the nature of science has been considered essential subject matter for the science curriculum. With this in mind, seventh-grade students were introduced to three aspects of the nature of science: (1) the distinction between observation and inference, (2) the subjective, and (3) the tentative aspects of the nature of science (Lederman et al., 2002). These three aspects of the nature of science were incorporated into lessons on the characteristics of living things.
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Electricity is an abstract phenomenon that students interact with every day. Interestingly enough, many eighth-grade students do not fully understand the requirements for a complete circuit. In an effort to "short-circuit" misunderstandings, the circuits unit described here was developed in a 5E instructional model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) of inquiry to help students build on their prior ideas with new experiences and understanding. The primary goal for this lesson is to address the misconception that no matter where the battery and bulb are connected, a complete circuit is made (Stepans 1996).
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